lord Martiya's MariHarem Week 2018
by lord Martiya
Summary: lord Martiya uses the MariHarem Week as an excuse for more Lilanette one-shots.
1. Day 1: Showing Their Affection

Again I'm writing for a Week, this time the Mariharem Week. But we all know what pairing I'm privileging, right? So, with no further ado, let's go to the story!

 **Day 1: Showing Their Affection**

Mr Damocles looked at the two girls in his office, a red-faced Marinette Dupain-Cheng and a completely unrepentant-looking Lila Rossi. Who had been sent to his office after they announced their relationship with a rather particular public display of affection.

"Why exactly did you make out on top of a desk of your classroom?" Damocles asked.

"Because it was Adrien Agreste's." Lila replied, matter-of-factly.

"Oh. Perfectly understandable, then." he replied, much to Marinette's surprise. And he meant that: the entire school had known of Marinette's crush, and had been frustrated at the oblivious boy somehow managing to crush on her back without even realizing either Marinette's feelings or his own. He supposed it was only natural that someone among Marinette's many admirers would decide to move in at some point-and that the vindicative Italian girl would choose that method to show him what he missed, somehow talking the usually nicer girl into going with it. "You may go. Just don't break in his home for a repeat performance."

"Mr Damocles! Please, don't give her ideas!" Marinette shouted.


	2. Day 2: Hobbies

This one was quite hard to write. I mean, I'm pretty much using the Week for Lilanette snips but we don't know much of Lila's hobbies… Thankfully, inspiration struck with Marinette's one hobby she could talk Lila into helping her with.

WARNING: From now on, most of the stories will be set in an AU where Lila showed up right at the first episode and things went a bit differently… Including Master Fu giving out _three_ Miraculous on that first day. Would have used it for all the snips, but I had the idea when I had already wrote two. Not in chronological order.

 **Day 2: Hobbies**

"Now stand still." Marinette said. "We're almost finished, OK?"

Lila was trying, she was really trying to stand still while Marinette fitted her the new dress. Problem was, she was all too painfully aware that the aspiring designer had a crush on her ever since she defanged her bully and she really, really fearing she'd fall to the temptation and cop a feel-and didn't know how she'd react at her friend doing it. In hindsight, she had to wonder how she had got talked into this.

"Finished." Marinette said.

Lila blinked in surprise. Not a feel, not anything. She had to admit, at least to herself, that _she_ wouldn't have resisted. Maybe she could think about dating… If things had been easier and she wasn't hopelessly pining after Ladybug, of all people. Then she looked at herself in the mirror.

"You need a new hobby." she said, to set up the rest. "It's not good to have their dream job as a hobby, especially when you make me wonder if aren't possessed by the ghosts of Coco Chanel and the first three generations of Gucci."

And of course, Marinette started stammering and blushing. She missed the early days of her crush, when she did that almost all the time… And had to admit, causing that reaction had become something of a hobby.


	3. Day 3: Confession

I'm a sadist. Truly a sadist. Also, I stay with my name for heroic!Lila: Vorpika.

WARNING: Also set in an AU where Lila showed up right at the first episode and things went a bit differently… Including Master Fu giving out _three_ Miraculous on that first day. Not in chronological order.

 **Day 3: Confession**

"Come again?" Lila asked, hoping she had _not_ heard what she thought she had heard.

"I love you." Marinette repeated. Then, before Lila could say anything, she added: "It's not a crush for when you neutralized Chloe. Well, yes, it started like that, but then… Then I got to know you. The good. The bad. The generosity and the repressed anger. The cunning and the hidden cruelty. The fantasy and ability to lie. And I love all of that."

For a moment, Lila couldn't answer. She couldn't even move. Then, much to Marinette's surprise, she started softly crying.

"L-Lila? Are you well?"

"Not sure… I mean, why did it have that I can't even give you a chance?!"

"What-"

"I-I'm sorry, but I love another girl. _E nu' posso manco confessaielo._ "

"But-why?" she asked. She couldn't exactly speak Italian, but at least she could understand it well enough to get the Romanesco dialect Lila would sometimes slip into when emotional. Or when she had to make appreciations about Zoe the Fangirl(1).

" _C'è_ _n'impiccio, e si nun s'arisorve… So' na cazzo de lei_ , first I can't even give you a chance, wouldn't be right for you, or her, and then I vent on _te…_ "

Marinette just hugged her. At least she could help her with that…

-TIMESKIP-

"Vorpika, are you well?" Ladybug asked her friend. The one who, alongside Alya, had helped her deal with the events of Lila's rejection. She still hoped she'd manage to solve whatever complication. Maybe she'd have a chance then, or Lila would be happy.

" _Sò felicia a' botte!_ " Vorpika replied. "I mean, Papillon's finally dealt with, and-"

"But why are you covering it? I mean, he terrorized the city…"

"I understand his reasons. That, and the collateral damage would be enormous. Plus, it's not like the law can do him worse than what I did him… And no, I'm not telling you what I did, you're smart enough that you could guess it now that we've retrieved both his Miraculous."

"OK, OK. But then, why are you so, well-"

"Strange? Because I can finally do something I've been hoping to do for months! Ladybug, _te vojo bene._ "

"What?"

" _Je t'aime._ I love you. _Ti amo. Aishiteru. Wo ai ni._ And I would have said it long ago, if I could figure how to make it work when we can't even tell each other who we are under the mask."

"Wait, I-" Ladybug started to say, before realizing what Vorpika was about to do. "The secret identities! They have to remain secret! Master Fu-"

" _S'inculi._ Too much has happened. I-I need to do this. Trixx, _destrasformame_."

And before Ladybug's eyes, Vorpika became Lila, of all people. And then the spotted superheroine cold only look at her with an open mouth and bug eyes, before she started laughing.

"Ladybug? Wait, what's so funny?"

"Trixx, untransform me."

"Uh- _MA CHE CAZZO?!_ "

 _Author note_

(1)Little OC of mine. Very punchable.


	4. Day 4: She's in Danger

This one features an OC I created almost by accident: Zoe Chevalot. She had a passing mention in chapter four of my Lilanette Week 2018, and a review later I found myself expanding the character. Just don't ask what lurks in my deranged mind, OK?

 **Day 4: She's in Danger**

"What? No, I'm not after Adrien." Lila said to the strange blonde girl who had confronted her about a supposed crush on Adrien, Zoe Chevalot. AKA, Zoe the Fangirl, as even _Adrien and Nathaniel_. But every time she asked about that nickname, everyone replied that she'll find out all too soon. "And even if I were, things have happened." It was even the truth, though not the whole truth. As it was, she was trying to understand what she felt for Marinette, the class representative that had all but dragged out of her room and effectively forced her to not become a shut-in with some very creative lie. She didn't want to think what would have happened had she been allowed to wallow in her anger… At the very least, she wouldn't have patched things up with Ladybug and cleared that misunderstanding. "But why do you ask? You aren't dating, aren't you?"

"Not yet!" the blonde replied. "And we don't need to, it's fate! Fate! And soon enough, as I'll have dealt with that _chinetoque_ skank that dares sitting near hi-"

Zoe didn't complete the phrase, as Lila's right cross at the slur had knocked her out. Just in time for the akuma to miss her-and get into Lila's bracelet.

" _Not again…"_ Papillon said. _"It's not about you, it's just that the last time an Akuma switched targets… Well, it was Gigantitan. Would you please calm down? I'm behind schedule with Zoe's weekly akumatization."_

"' _Azzo hai detto?_ "

" _She gets akumatizable once per week out of jealousy. I think it's why everyone calls her Zoe the Fangirl, among other things. Aaaand… I just got you too angry. Well, Volpina, would you help me deal with the-"_

Lila broke her bracelet. She absolutely didn't want to get akumatized again. That, and she really, really wanted to find out why Gabriel Agreste hadn't filed a restraining order yet.

* * *

"She's the prefect's daughter, that's why." Chloe explained. "And while the Ministry of Interior has put him and the police under daddy until Papillon is dealt with(1) because daddy is much more efficient with that, he still wields enough power that not even Gabriel Agreste can take him lightly."

Lila facepalmed. It was worse than the worst that had happened back home-Italy had more than a few issues with abuses of power, but any big name would have had their child committed for less. Especially with the repeated brainwashing.

"And you know the worst part? She usually targets Marinette for such things as tripping when she sees Adrien." Chloe continued. "At least it explains how she runs so fast…"

That was it. Marinette was in danger, and if the authorities were powerless and Ladybug could only stop the single incidents, then she'd step in. And she knew exactly what to do.

* * *

"Lila, why did the prefect call the embassy protesting for you continuously beating up his daughter?" Lila's mother asked her.

"I'm knocking her out to prevent her akumatization, mother." Lila replied with a smile as she checked the state of her right MMA glove. "She used to get akumatized at least once per week, but now that I punch her every time the akuma gets in one of her things she's not turning anymore. I'm doing her a favor, really."

"Her and her dentist. By the way, your father ordered you Winning gloves for this."

Well, that would be useful. Especially with the new schedule of attempted akumatizations. She wondered why did Papillon up it…

* * *

"Run that by me again?" Nathalie asked her boss, unsure if she had heard correctly.

"I said I'm trying to akumatize the fangirl daily so that the repeated punches will give her punch drunk syndrome(3) and have her hospitalized." Gabriel replied. "I can't get a restraining order, scaring her away with continued akumatizations failed, but this, this may work!"

 _Notes_

(1)Paris doesn't have a municipal police force, law enforcement being provided exclusively by a specific subdivision of the national police force. Thus I explain mayor Bourgeois' control over the police as the Ministry of Interior transferring it to him for unspecified reasons.

(2)Winning is a brand of combat sport gear, best known for the enormous price of their gloves and offering the best hand protection in the world. Outside of Japan they're available only through mail order.

(3)Punch drunk syndrome is a neurodegenerative disease caused by too many punches to the head. It's commonly found in boxers, hence the name.


	5. Day 5: Holidays

Today, I go back to something I explored in my first entry for the Lilanette Week 2018: Lila's relationship with Paris' climate. May be part of why she did what she did, depending on where she had previously been… But anyway, I'll take the chance to write a scene I've been hoping to write for a while: Lila and someone else at a certain restaurant.

 **Day 5: Holidays**

" _BROCCA TROPPO!_ "

If there was a thing Marinette loved above all of her girlfriend was how expressive she could be. Except for her appreciations on the climate-not only she would usually do them in Romanesco, that she didn't understand as well as proper Italian, but tended to shout them. Still, she could make an educate guess on what she had said.

"Too cold?" as usual.

"Too cold." Lila confirmed. "Humanity evolved in Africa alongside coffee(1), why do we have to live so far north?!"

"It's not so bad…"

"Compared to what's coming. I can't even imagine how bad will it be at Christmas. Or suffer it: I'm going back to Rome for the vacations."

Wait, what?

"And… Well, I'd like you to come with me." Lila proposed.

"Uh-Really? Yes! Yes, I want to! But only if you show me your favorite places too. Your favorite monuments, your favorite park, your favorite restaurant…"

"The restaurant may not be a good idea…"

"The restaurant too."

"Very well. But I warn you: it's the most typical restaurant of Rome."

* * *

" _Aò! So' 'rivate e' frocie!_ "

Marinette looked at the waiter in shock. That was close enough to standard Italian she had understood it-and why did he say that?!

" _Nun è colpa nostra, i rigazzi nostri eran da te!_ "

And Lila shouted back?!

Then Marinette remembered something, and looked again at the sign. That loudly proclaimed what kind of place that was.

"Why did I expect anything else from a restaurant called "the swearword"(2)?" she mumbled as Lila exchanged insults with the waiter.

 _Author notes_

(1)The currently accepted theory about the origin of modern humans proposes that they originated in the Horn of Africa… That, by happenstance, is also where coffee comes from.

(2)Cencio la Parolaccia (Cencio being the nickname of the first owner and "la Parolaccia" meaning "the swearword") is an actual restaurant in Rome, best known for its entertainment: songs in Romanesco filled with swearwords and waiters that verbally abuse the diners. Romans have a reputation about that, and the founder was smart enough to take advantage of that.


	6. Day 6: Loving Flaws

I'm sorry… I just couldn't help. Wait, I'm not sorry! Anyway, you could see this as a midquel to my Day 3 story. Also, once again, I still use Vorpika as hero!Lila's name.

WARNING: Also set in an AU where Lila showed up right at the first episode and things went a bit differently… Including Master Fu giving out _three_ Miraculous on that day. Not in chronological order.

 **Day 6: Loving Flaws**

As Chat had to leave the patrol early for some reason (that his teammates believed was overly strict parents. Even with the secret identities, they just spent too much time with each other to not notice certain things), Vorpika looked at Ladybug, still wistful, and trying to hide it, ever since she had confessed her love to a girl so idiot to not jump her then and there. Even with the secret identities keeping her from making her move, Vorpika knew she had to do something. And who knew, maybe it was a crush being mistaken for something more-after all, they were still inexperienced teens.

"How is she?" Vorpika asked Ladybug.

"Who?" Ladybug replied.

"The idiot who wouldn't date you."

"She's not an idiot! She's one of the smartest people I know!"

"Uh-hu. And maybe, perfect?"

"Uh? Hardly. She's irascible, impulsive, nosy, tends to lie to get out of trouble, can hold the most ridiculous grudges and be quite cruel, doesn't quite get personal space…"

"And… You still love her?"

"It's the very things that made her destroy my bully."

"Your what?!"

* * *

"Can you believe it, Trixx? Ladybug, a former bullying victim." Lila said to her kwami after they returned home. "If nothing else, it explains why at times she has an even worse temper than mine."

"She also has described a rather familiar girl." Trixx pointed out.

For a moment Lila thought about it, but dismissed it. The universe was sadistic, sure, but it operated on too large a scale to make sure Ladybug was Marinette and set up a love square between her and Lila. They weren't some cartoon characters, after all.


	7. Day 7: MariHarem

Now, I had more than a few ideas for this one, but in the end I opted for a little talk between the Lila and the Chat Noir of that AU. One that tackles the fact the series is set in France, with their own rules for certain things…

WARNING: Also set in an AU where Lila showed up right at the first episode and things went a bit differently… Including Master Fu giving out _three_ Miraculous on that day. Not in chronological order.

 **Day 7: MariHarem**

"Red roses, chocolate from the best bakery in Paris… This is all quite expensive." Lila commented after looking over the list of things Chat Noir had asked her to purchase. "I'm not going to ask you where you're getting the money, but are you sure she's worth it?"

"Of course! She's Ladybug!" he replied, almost offended.

"Yes, I suppose she'd-wait, Ladybug?!" This was bad, really bad. Chat Noir was the only competition she had any reason to fear. Well, he and Adrien Agreste, but between Zoe the Fangirl, Chloe, and his apparent crush for Marinette that he was too oblivious and naive to notice, he wasn't a danger. "Since when?!"

"Since ever? I mean, why would I flirt with her so much? And I know she feels the same!"

"And now I've just learned your parents are very strict and homeschooled you for most of your life, possibly even now, and Ladybug and Vorpika were among your first friends if not the first."

Chat Noir flinched. He knew Lila was smart, likely as much as Ladybug and Vorpika, but he didn't expect her to suddenly guess that.

"How do I know, you wonder?" Lila asked, before answering herself. "Because otherwise you'd have learned the _French_ dating rules, and not the Americans. Things such as no third date rule, no dating protocol period, _men and women flirting all the time even as friends(1)…_ " Almost reflexively, Lila took a picture of Chat's face before continuing. "And if you think I'm trolling you, think about my class and explain why otherwise Chloe would allow anyone but Adrien to flirt with her, or why Kim and Alix spend half their time flirting even when the former has a girlfriend."

"Oh." Chat said, before remaining silent for a while. "I-I suppose I owe you, you saved me from an embarrassing situation…"

"Don't worry. With all the time you spend saving my class, I suppose we're friends-and friends help each other."

The fact Lila had her own reasons to keep Chat Noir from declaring himself to Ladybug went unsaid. Or completely unnoticed by Chat.

 _Author note_

(1)This was something I wanted to point out for a while: French have a different dating system from the Americans that make up so much of the fandom. Hence why Chat Noir thought Ladybug was leading him on and Ladybug/Marinette didn't even know he had a crush on her until Chat told Mari: in France it's perfectly normal, just as a man and a woman going out together alone as friends, even when married. Luckily for me they're almost the same as the Italian ones, so I have no issue with them… And I can proclaim that Marinette's kiss in the second season finale was of romantic nature. Not that Adrien would know the difference, what with his hyperprotective parents and his only friend for years having been Chloe…


	8. Day 8: Free Day

Aaaaand… This is the very start of that AU. The one where Lila arrived in the first episode and things went a little different, including Master Fu giving out _three_ Miraculous on that day. Had the idea for this one while walking through Milan's roads, so blame it on the smog.

My explanation for Lila's resemblance to the past Fox Miraculous User, on the other hand, is far older.

 **Day 8: Free Day**

Lila's first impression of Paris was positive, especially compared to London. Sure, she missed such things as Speakers' Corner, but Paris didn't lose anything when it came to parks and monuments, contrary to stereotype the Parisians were actually less arrogant than the Londoners (they seemed that way because they were more lively), the cooking was better, the paparazzi weren't as nosy, and, most importantly, it wasn't as cold(1). Now, if she could convince the other transfer student (that was in her same class, for some reason) to share whatever witchcraft she was using to tolerate the climate when she was from Martinique(2)…

"It's not so bad." Cesaire stated as they walked toward their class. "I simply-Wait a minute!"

They had reached the class, and what had got Cesaire started was the sight of the local bully browbeating a girl of Chinese descent about the latter arriving first at a seating the bully wanted. And, much to Lila's irritation, the victim was so broken she was still going to let the bully have the seat. So, of course, Lila walked up and blatantly sat in the contested seat.

"Excuse you?! That's my seat!" the bully protested.

"May I see the receipt?" Lila asked with the calmest and most irritating smile and tone she could muster. She knew exactly how to deal with these fools who thought money (as made evident by the bully wearing a rather expensive _Gabriel_ outfit and _Chloé_ (3) sunglasses) made them some kind of divinity. For the moment, she enjoyed her sputtering.

"Move away now, or I'll tell my father!" the bully threatened, as expected.

"And why should I care?"

"Because he's the mayor!"

"Aaaand… Saved in the Cloud." Lila announced as she produced her smartphone and touched its screen, quickly changing her plan to take advantage of the new information. "I knew exactly who you are, _Borghesotta_ -that's why I was recording, expecting you to threaten me with your father. Now, I wonder what would happen if this got to the papers, especially when the election is so close…"

Lila let a few seconds pass, enjoying the looks of shock and surprise from the classmates, the gratitude and blushing(?!) from the victim, and the horror on the mayor's daughter's face.

"Don't look at me like that, it wasn't me to threaten to pull the mayor of Paris in a disagreement between middle schoolers." Lila said. "Now go, I believe this is-Uh, I think I missed your name."

"Ma-Marinette! Marinette Dupain-Cheng!"

"I believe this is Marinette's place. By the way, my sweet host, would you be so gentle to let Alya Cesaire and myself, Lila Rossi, rest here after we traveled from far away places?"

* * *

Master Fu had sent Wayzz to follow the future holder of the Ladybug Miraculous to discover where she lived so he could give her the Miraculous (the chosen of the Black Cat had been easier, thanks to having his face on half of Paris' walls). He had completed his mission-and brought him some interesting information.

"You sure it was an improvised bluff?" he asked his Kwami.

"Her smartphone was turned off and she was ready to dodge a physical attack, Master." the Kwami explained.

"I see… Lila Rossi, currently living in the Italian embassy, you said?"

* * *

Lila was laughing as she closed the door of her room at the embassy. _Gabriel_ 's newest jewelry line included copies of a necklace that was all too familiar to an Italian, thanks to the latest two known users of the Fox Miraculous having been active there and the first being so popular her hairstyle was still fairly widespread, even Lila herself had it(4)-and as her mother had given her some money to buy herself a souvenir from the city, she had bought one, fully knowing her dear paranoid mother would likely mistake it for the real deal and get a near heart attack at the idea of her becoming a superhero, and would be trying to catch her breath for a while even after being shown the receipt. She'd feel bad if it wasn't for the very thing that prompted her to prank her mother that way…

After stopping laughing she took a look around. She still had to unpack a few things, and needed to choose what to start with. Then she noticed a small hexagonal box, one she was sure wasn't there previously, and opened it, finding another of those necklaces… From which emerged a small fox-like imp.

"You, have been chosen." the imp announced. "A force of evil has appeared in this city. This evil must be destroyed, and only through the strength of Trixx and the Fox Miraculous and the virtue of human righteousness can this evil be vanquished."

Lila blinked for a few moments, then voiced her opinion: "I thought I had outgrown imaginary friends that can quote and paraphrase _Samurai Jack_."

The imp slapped Lila's head with its tail.

* * *

A quick explanation later, Lila knew that someone evil had their hands on the Butterfly Miraculous, whose power was to empower others, and she had been entrusted with the Fox Miraculous to stop him. She also knew that originally only the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses were supposed to be activated, but her defanging of the mayor's daughter had made clear she had the spirit of a hero and possessed the inventive, ability to tell tales, and bit of ruthlessness to properly use the Fox Miraculous(5). Thus she had left to see if she'd meet her partners-and promptly got involved into a battle with the first victim of the supervillain. That, for some strange coincidence, had been one of her classmates. Still, after dealing with him in a battle that could have gone worse and recharging their powers, the three superheroes had met on top of the Eiffel Tower to meet and discuss things. Especially as it appeared they hadn't been warned about her.

"From what my Kwami told me, the one who choose us didn't expect to find someone with the right contradictory character traits for the Fox Miraculous." Lila explained. "Not that there was any need, at least this first time. Still… I think I missed your names. The codenames, I mean. We have secret identities to defend even at cost of appearing snobs or jerks for not telling even small things."

"Oh, right. This is Ladybug, and I am Chat Noir." the cat superhero said. "And you are?"

"You may call me Vorpika."

"Didn't you just say we shouldn't reveal even small things?" Ladybug asked, having got the meaning of the name.

"Between my two predecessors and this hairstyle my Italianity's coming out anyway in a couple days most-or maybe this fox is taking advantage of the expectations to throw off people from the actual nationality. But you should work on keeping secrets too, only another Italian would have got it so fast(6)."

"That would be my grandmother's attempt at teaching me Italian, I have all the-" Ladybug interrupted herself when she noticed Vorpika's look. "Oh. Dammit, I'm such a disaster…"

"No. You are inexperienced. We all are. I'm better at the secret identity thing because, for certain reasons, I have experience at it, but for the rest I'm just as bad as you if not worse. And we'll get better, because if we have been chosen it means we have the potential."

* * *

The following day didn't start as well as the previous. Turned out that they should have purified the butterfly-the Akuma, as Trixx had called it-and as they hadn't it was turning half of Paris into inanimate copies of Stone Heart, the villain they had defeated. Plus, she couldn't contact Ladybug, and she really feared her confidence issues had driven her to do something really stupid. Finally, Marinette, who was the daughter of the best bakers in Paris, as her best friend (who had lived in Paris before they first met) had presented them, was feeling down due the effects of the failed clean-up. Only good thing was that Lila's mother didn't suspect her of being Vorpika anymore-in her words, "You may be the kind of person who'd buy a copy of that Miraculous and prank me that way just to hide the fact you have the real one, but you wouldn't screw up that way, even as a beginner". Never mind they had.

"They're beginners who committed an amateur's error, Marinette, simple as that." Lila told Marinette as they walked to their class with Alya-who had already set up a fan blog to the superheroes. "But they're extremely talented beginners: without training, coordination, or even knowing how many of them would be there they took on that thing, and with such a talent they'll fix this soon."

"But-" Marinette started, but stopped when she saw Lila's face so close they almost touched their noses.

"Do you trust me, Marinette?"

"Y-y-yes…" Marinette squealed as she started blushing.

"Then you will believe me when I say they'll fix this before the day ends."

And she meant that. Thanks to Trixx' explanation, she knew what would happen: to fix the copies of Stone Heart they needed their classmate, Ivan Bruel, to get akumatized again, and she knew, _knew_ , that their class' personal bully would provide to make him vulnerable, in the lunch break at the latest, at the mid-morning break most likely, with their villain having all the reasons to take advantage of it immediately. It was distasteful, but she'd have to let the _Borghesotta_ do her thing. That, and she couldn't stop everyone who'd treat him bad for it, she knew human nature and they hadn't had the chance to explain the situation to the public yet, so letting the bully who apparently knew all his buttons already ream into him would just make things faster.

Lila's train of thoughts was interrupted by Alya's "Hey!", and as she turned to see what she had seen they noticed they had arrived to the class-and _there was a teen-aged model in a rather suspicious attitude over their desks_ , of all things. Something that flared up Marinette's temper, leading her to ream into the model until Lila realized from his face she had to stop her.

"Listen, blondie, answer just one question: why are you covering for Bourgeois?" she asked.

"Uh? No! No I'm not! I mean-" the model stammered, and that was enough for Marinette to realize the situation even better than Lila.

"For how long she's been your only friend?" she asked.

"Since I remember." he admitted.

"Then it's time you have a few more." the music boy who was apparently the model's desk mate said.

And that at least was dealt with.

* * *

Chloe Bourgeois was nothing but reliable, and almost coinciding with the end of the mid-morning lunch break Stone Heart had made his return, with his copies providing him an army. While the copies were easily dealt with, as they didn't grow bigger when hit and Vorpika had a good right cross, the police had come in their way more than once, and Ladybug had arrived late. Vorpika didn't voice her suspicions at why it had been, partly because she was now seeing her more determined than she had been, and they and Chat Noir chased Stone Heart and his hostage _s_ (aside for the obvious, he had another classmate, Mylene Apron or something like that), and, after Stone Heart _threw_ the mayor's daughter at his father (with Ladybug's intervention saving both), their enemy, _Papillon_ (she had nearly laughed at that. Then again, French would think of butterflies before bowties at that word, and someone calling himself "THE Butterfly" wasn't as ridiculous), manifested himself through a face made out of Akuma-and then had the gall to blame Ladybug and Chat Noir for his own actions. She was about to call him out for it, when she heard clapping-from _Ladybug_?!

"Nice try, Papillon, but we know who the bad guy is." she said, with far more calm than Vorpika would have managed and movements emphasizing her words that were just perfect. "Let's not reverse the roles here: without you, no innocent victims would be transformed into villains. Papillon! No matter how long, we _will_ find you, and _you_ will hand us your Miraculous!"

She then sprung into actions and _dissolved_ the giant talking head. She then said something, but Vorpika wasn't listening, too busy to admire the sudden change in Ladybug. And she knew it was still her, the movements, the speech patterns, the _everything_ , was just her. And as the onlookers cheered at her, she whispered: " _Daje Roma,_ _te sto incollata anche a casacalla…_ "

It would be only later, after they triumphed on Stone Heart following a plan that seemed completely insane without asking the spotted heroine if she had gone crazy, and Ladybug _somehow_ found Ivan a girlfriend, that Vorpika realized what her spontaneous declaration of following Ladybug even to hell meant.

 _Author notes_

(1)As I said, I imagine Lila as being rather cold in Paris… And, logically, would have felt even worse in London.

(2)I am genuinely puzzled by this: how does Alya (and apparently her father and older sister) manage to go around Paris while wearing such light clothing when they're from Martinique?!

(3) _Chloé_ is the actual name of a French fashion house that makes, among other things, sunglasses.

(4)This is my headcanon for Lila's resemblance to the Fox Miraculous user in the Miraculous Book: she became a national hero to Italy, and Lila is intentionally imitating her.

(5)My little theory: the Fox Miraculous is by its nature a tool of psychological manipulation, and to express its full potential it needs someone without qualms to do just that.

(6)Vorpika has a specific meaning derived from Italian media conventions, and it's rare for an Italian to pick up on it.


End file.
